Filling machine with adjustable fill height control



June 4, 1968 J. H. RlE $ENBERG 3,386,480

FILLING MACHINE WITH ADJUSTABLE FILL HEIGHT CONTROL Filed Nov. '12, 1965 '5 Sheets-Sheet l BYW+Q ATTORNEYS.

June 4, 1968 J, RlESENBERG 3,386,480

FILLING MACHINE WITH ADJUSTABLE FILL HEIGHT CONTROL Filed Nov. 12, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR. 7077295271? Ease/2.66:

ATTORNEYS.

June 1968 J. H. RIESENBERG 3,

FILLING MACHINE WITH ADJUSTABLE FILL HEIGHT CONTROL 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 12, 1965 INVENTOR. JEzmes JfResrzZezg M am ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,386,480 FILLING MACHINE WITH ADJUSTABLE FILL HEIGHT CONTROL James H. Riesenberg, Amherst, N.Y., assignor to Consolidated Packaging Machinery Corp., Buffalo. N.Y. Filed Nov. 12, 1965, Ser. No. 507,485 7 Claims. (Cl. 141--147) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A container supporting tray is mounted for movement into and out of filling position relative to a filling head, and the tray and head are mounted for movement through a predetermined path. As the tray and head are moved through the path, the tray is moved into filling position by means including a cam extending along the path and a cam follower connected to the tray. The cam includes first and second sections one of which is mounted for movement relative to the other and determines the spacing between the tray and the filling head when the tray is in filling position. Transfer cam means bridge the cam sections for smoothly transferring the cam follower from one section to the other, and means are provided automatically operable upon relative movement of the sections to adjust the position of the transfer cam means and thereby accommodate such relative movement.

This invention relates generally to the filling art, and more specifically to a new and useful filling machine container supporting arrangement.

Often it is desired to vary the fill height for which the machine is set. For example, this might be done to accommodate expansion and contraction of the product upon variation in ambient temperature. Where the filling heads have made sealing engagement with the containers, individual adjustment of the filling heads generally has been required. This is time consuming and therefore objectionable.

A primary object of this invention is to provide a container filling machine which can be quickly and easily adjusted to vary the fill height Without interrupting the filling operation.

Another object of this invention is to accomplish the foregoing in an arrangement providing increased filling time with increased fill height.

A further object of this invention is to accomplish the foregoing without jarring the containers as they are conveyed through the filling cycle.

Still another object of this invention is to accomplish the foregoing in a relatively simple, inexpensive and dependable arrangement.

In one aspect thereof, a filling machine constructed in accordance with my invention is characterized by the provision of a cam controlling the raising and lowering of a series of container supporting trays, the cam having a movable section, a fixed section and transfer means automatically operable upon relative movement of said sections to bridge the same for smoothly transferring a cam follower from one section to the other.

The foregoing and other objects, advantages and characterizing features of my invention will become clearly apparent from the ensuing detailed description of an illustrative embodiment thereof, taken together with the accompanying drawings depicting the same wherein like reference numerals denote like parts throughout the various views and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section showing a filling machine incorporating an adjustable tray lift mechanism of my invention, parts being broken away for ease of illustration;

FIG. 2 is a simplified, fragmentary vie-w thereof partly in plan and partly in horizontal section, taken about on line 2-2 of FIG. 1, various parts being omitted for clarity;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view thereof partly in elevation and partly in vertical section, taken about on line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, detail, side elevational view of the cam, on an enlarged scale, taken about on line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the cam detail shown in FIG. 4, being taken about on line 55 of FIG. 4;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are vertical sectional views on a further enlarged scale, taken about on line 66 and 77, respectively, of FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary, detail view partly in elevation and partly in vertical section, taken about on line 88 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is an elevational view of one of the transfer cams; and

FIG. 10 is a rear perspective view thereof.

Referring now in detail to the illustrative embodiment depicted in the accompanying drawings, there is shown a filling machine including a supporting frame having a base generally designated 1 comprising a housing having a top wall 2 and an annular wall 3 extending upwardly therefrom. A rotatable central column 4 is journaled in a stufiing box assembly 5 mounted on wall 2, and is driven by a motor, not shown, through a speed reducer 13, a clutch 6, a drive gear 7 and a gear 8 mounted on a housing differential sleeve 9 connected to column 4. A cover plate 10 is carried by sleeve 9 for rotation therewith and extends across the open upper end of side wall 3.

Clutch 6 is connected to speed reducer 13 by a shaft journaled in a bearing 11 in top wall 2, and a chain drive 12 is provided to drive an intake and discharge conveyor 14.

An annular series of container supporting platforms or trays 16 is arranged around column 4, each tray 16 being adapted to support a container C and being elevated by a motor 17 mounted in an opening in cover plate 10. Motors 17 are shown as being of the air operated, piston type, each having a piston rod 18 on which the tray 16 is mounted, although other types of motors could be used. Piston rods 18 can be enclosed by flexible boots 19 extending from trays 16 to cover plate 10.

A machine head assembly 23 is mounted on column 4 for rotation therewith, and for being raised and lowered relative thereto by means of a rack 21 carried by column 4 and a pinion, not shown, carried by head sleeve 20 and arranged to be rotated by shaft 22. Head 23 mounts the vraious filling head assemblies generally designated 25, there being a filling head 25 for each container supporting tray 16. Each container filling head assembly 25 includes a sealing head 26 adapted for sealing engagement with the upper end of container C and through which a vacuum can be drawn via conduit 27. Each filling head also includes a filling stem 28 which is vertically reciprocable relative to head 26 under control of a cam 29 and a follower 30, it being understood that cam 29 is mounted on the machine frame as a stationary part thereof, and that each filling head 25 has a follower 30 connected to the stem 28 thereof. Each filling stem 28 is connected to an internal, hold-down cylinder 74, and is guided in its vertical movement by rods 75.

Product is furnished to the upper end of each filling stem 28 by individual conduits 31 communicating with a product supply ilne 32 through central column 4 and Patented June 4, 1968 an internal chamber in a rotary head part 68. A vacuum line also extends through central column 4, to an internal chamber in a head part 69 communicating with individual vacuum lines 27. An air supply line also extends through column 4 to an internal chamber in head part 70, and conduits 33 extend from chamber 70 to filling heads 25 to yieldably urge heads 26 down against containers C and to urge followers 36 against cam 29. For purposes of this invention, sufiice it to say that sealing heads 26 are vertically yieldable, having in this case air springs within cylinders 34. Alternately, coil springs can be provided between nut assemblies 35 on cylinders 34 and heads 26, as indicated at 35'.

The lower ends of piston rods 18, or extensions thereof, are formed to receive pins 36 each carrying a pair of rollers 37, 38. Rollers 37 are guide rollers, moving in bifurcated guide elements 39 mounted on motors 17 and each having a generally inverted U-shaped guide slot. Rollers 38 follow the undersurface of a cam comprising a stationary section 40 (FIG. 4), two transfer sections 41 and a vertically shiftable section 42. Rollers 33 are held against cam sections 40, 41, 42 by pneumatic pressure in motors 17 acting against return springs, not shown.

Stationary cam 40 is mounted on top Wall 2 by means of brackets 43 carried by cam 46 and slidably engaging studs 44, being vertically adjustable thereon and having set screw or other means for clamping them in adjusted position on the studs. Movable cam section 42 is mounted on three upright threaded studs 49 by means including nuts 45 engaging studs 49 and having ears bolted to vertically movable cam 42. With this arrangement, rotation of studs 44 will raise and lower cam section 42. Studs 49 are journaled in thrust bearings 49 mounted on wall 2, and are rotated in unison by means of interconnecting drive shafts 46 carrying bevel gears 67 engaging bevel gears 47 on the lower ends of the two outer studs 49 and a bevel gear 47' on the lower end of the central stud 49, which latter is rotated by a motor 48. Appropriate controls, not shown, are provided for starting, stopping and reversing motor 48, although a manually operated crank, not shown, could be used in lieu of mo tor 48.

The lower ends of the two outer studs 49 and the adjacent ends of shafts 46 are journaled on brackets 65 carried by wall 2. In like manner, the other ends of shafts 46 and the drive shaft connection between motor 48 and the central stud 49 are journaled in a bracket 66 carried by wall 2.

Movable section 42 is in circular alinement With the fixed section 40, except for radially offset extensions 50 secured to each of the opposite ends of section 42 as by bolts 51. Extensions 50 are offset to overlap section 40, and could be formed integral with section 42. Rollers 38 are sized and arranged to engage and follow the bottom edge 51 of stationary cam 40, the bottom edge 53 of movable cam 42, which is alined therewith, and also the bottom edges 52 of movable cam extensions 50. At the juncture of stationary cam 40 with movable cam 42, 50 the surface 51 of the former retreats, providing opposite end cam surfaces 54 extending obliquely upwardly relative to surfaces 51, 52 and 53. As a result, when section 42, 50 is shifted vertically, the length of edges 52 and 54 traveled by rollers 38 will vary.

Movable cam 42 is positioned at the filling portion of the machine cycle, between the intake and discharge points thereof, and it will be appreciated that the elevation of cam 42, 50 With its edge surfaces 52, 53 thereby determines the vertical position of trays 16 and the supported containers C during filling. By lowering cam section 42, containers C will have a lower vertical position during filling, thereby increasing the height of fill in the containers assuming that the filling head has level sensing means which remain at the same elevation and do not lower with the container. Conversely, raising cam section 42 raises containers C, decreasing the fill height again assuming a relatively fixed level sensing arrangement.

It is a feature of my invention that rollers 38 will tra verse a greater length of cam surfaces 52 when cam section 42 is lowered than they do when cam section 42 is raised. Because of the inclined juncture surfaces 54 of cam section 40, the effective length of cam 42, 5t) varies, and since cam 42 determines the position of the container during filling, the lower the cam the greater the fill height and the longer the filling time. This provides added time for the added fill. Of course, means can be provided to vary either the speed of rotation of column 4, or the rate of product flow, or both, to vary the amount of product dispensed in a given unit of time.

it is a particular feature of my invention that abrupt, jarring discontinuities in the cam surface are avoided by means automatically compensating for variations in the relative height of cam sections 40 and 42. This is accomplished in the illustrated embodiment by the provision of transfer cams 41 each having a cam surface 55 alined with surface 52 of the adjacent extension 50, and a lateral extension 56 of cam surface 55 alined with surfaces 51 and 54 of cam section 40. The upper surface 71 of each transfer cam 41 is parallel to surface 52 of movable cam extension 50 and has sliding engagement therewith, it being understood that right and left hand transfer cams 41 are provided at the opposite ends of cam section 40. Each transfer cam extension 56 has an oblique rear wall 72 parallel to the adjacent surface 54 and in sliding engagement therewith. Surfaces 71 and 72 therefore comprise guide surfaces coacting with surfaces 52 and 54, respectively.

Each transfer cam 41 has an upwardly extending projection or post 57 carrying a headed bolt 58 the head of which is confined in an undercut slot 59 in the associated extension 50, thereby retaining transfer cams 51 in place against extensions 50 with sliding clearance therebetwecn. Slots 59 are parallel to surfaces 52, and bolts 58 are movable therein. A pair of roller followers 60, 61 are carried by each post 57 and extend into guide slots 62 and 63, respectively. Guide slots 62 are horizontal slots, one in each extension 50, parallel to the movable cam surfaces 52, 53. Slots 63 are parallel to the retreating cam surfaces 54 at opposite ends of stationary cam 40. Rollers 60 and 61, in conjunction with slots 62 and 63 thereby position cams 41 along surfaces 54 and 52. As a result, when movable cam 42 is raised or lowered, it carries with it transfer cams 41 which are shifted horizontally by slots 63 coacting with rollers 61, as indicated by the broken line directional arrows in FIG. 4. Rollers 60 and slots 62 maintain cams 41 in sliding engagement with surfaces 52, while rollers 61 and slots 63 maintain cams 41 in sliding engagement with surfaces 54.

Cam surfaces 55, 56 are on a radius, in the manner of fillets, having feather edges merging or blending with cam surfaces 52 and 54, respectively, comprising continuations thereof for efifecting a smooth transfer from stationary cam section 40 to movable cam section 42, and vice versa. Transfer cams 41 thereby bridge the discontinuities between cam surfaces 54 and 52, avoiding jarring of containers C which otherwise would result, and the automatic adjustment of cams 41 upon relative movement of the cam sections repositions the transfer cams in a manner maintaining the desired bridging relation between the cam sections.

Accordingly, it is seen that my invention fully accomplishes its intended objects. The container fill height can be adjusted while the machine is running, without interrupting the filling operation, and the position of transfer cams 41 is automatically adjusted to maintain the desired bridging relation regardless of the position of cam 42 relative to cam 40. The air spring in cylinder 34, or the coil spring 35, as the case may be, permits head 26 to yield as the containers C are raised by vertical adjustment of cam 42. Where the filling head does not engage the container, no such spring is needed.

While I have disclosed in detail but one embodiment of my invention, that has been done by way of illustration only, without thought of limitation. Having fully disclosed and completely described my invention, what I claim as new is:

1. In a container filling machine, a filling head, a container supporting tray mounted for movement into and out of filling position relative to said filling head, means mounting said filling head and said tray for movement through a predetermined path, and means moving said tray into filling position as said tray and said filling head are moved through said path including a cam extending along said path, and cam follower means connected to said tray, said cam including first and second sections one of which determines the spacing between said tray and said filling head when said tray is in filling position, means mounting said one cam section for movement relative to the other thereof, thereby to vary the height of fill of a container supported on said tray, transfer cam means bridging said cam sections for smoothly transferring said cam follower means from one of said sections to the other thereof, and means automatically operable upon relative movement of said sections to adjust the position of said transfer cam means and thereby accommodate such relative movement.

2. A container filling machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein said transfer cam means comprises a cam movable with said movable cam section relative to the other thereof and simultaneously movable relative to said movable cam section.

3. A container filling machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein said first and second cam sections have substantially parallel cam surfaces, the relatively fixed one of said sections also having a third cam surface extending obliquely between said first and second cam surfaces, said transfer cam means having a fourth cam surface substantially merging with said second and third surfaces.

4. A container filling machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein said first and second cam sections overlap and have first and second cam surfaces, respectively, on the overlapping portions thereof, one of said surfaces being inclined relative to the other thereof, said transfer cam means having a curved cam surface substantially blending with said first and second surfaces, and wherein said means operable to adjust the position of said transfer cam means upon relative movement of said cam sections includes first and second guide means on said sections in substantially parallel relation to said first and second cam surfaces, and first and second guided means on said transfer cam means in guided engagement with said first and second guide means.

5. A container filling machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein said first and second cam sections overlap and have first and second cam surfaces, respectively, on the overlapping portions thereof, one of said cam surfaces being inclined relative to the other thereof, said transfer cam means having a curved cam surface bridging said first and second cam surfaces, said transfer cam means also having first and second guide surfaces in sliding engagement with said first and second cam surfaces, respectively.

6. A container filling machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means mounting said one cam section for movement relative to the other includes at least two rotatable mounting posts in threaded engagement with said movable one cam section for moving the same upon rotation of said posts, and means for rotating said posts in unison.

7. In a container filling machine, a filling head, a container supporting tray mounted for movement into and out of filling position relative to said filling head, means mounting said filling head and said tray for movement through a predetermined path, and means moving said tray into filling position as said tray and said filling head are moved through said path including a cam extending along said path, and cam follower means connected to said tray, said cam including first and second sections one of which determines the spacing between said tray and said filling head when said tray is in filling position, said first and second cam sections overlapping and having generally parallel first and second cam surfaces, the other of said cam sections also having on the overlapping portion thereof an inclined third cam surface extending between said first and second surfaces, said cam follower engaging said third cam surface in passing between said first and second cam surfaces, and means mounting said one cam surface for movement relative to the other thereof, thereby to vary the height of fill of a container supported on said tray.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,189,062 6/1965 Kazmierczak 141147 LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner.

H. S. BELL, Assistant Examiner. 

